Election Commission of India (ECI) having debarred 58 persons who had contested Assembly election-2012 as Independent candidates for having failed to file their election expenditure details to the commission would help sitting MlAs of at least two constituencies- Raipur and Rishikesh-to breathe easy.
For instance, Raipur MlA Umesh Sharma Kau, one of the nine Congress rebels who recently switched to BJP, must have breathed a sigh of relief as the probable Congress candidate Rajni Rawat is one of the persons debarred from contesting. Since the switch of Kau, Rawat was engaged in doing her spadework, hoping to be given nomination by the ruling party to take on Kau. She had organised a Congress programme under Satat Vikas and Sankalp Yatra (consistent development & pledge rally) in the constituency. Impressed by her perceived hold on the electorate, the Chief Minister Harish Rawat himself had recently acknowledged that her connect with the people there was good. With Rawat out of the reckoning, Congress would find it difficult to find one who can throw the gauntlet in the right spirit to the redoubtable Kau who is most likely to be given the saffron party’s nomination this time. Although congress party ticket seekers, who were eyeing , are happy that they may get a chance.
Similar is the case in Rishikesh Assembly constituency. Deep Sharma, chairman of Rishikesh municipality, who was being tipped as the probable Congress candidate to take on the sitting BJP MlA Premchand Aggrawal, is out of the contest following the ECI’s order.
Notably, Sharma had been making frantic efforts to get ticket from the Congress for the prestigious seat. Things hanged fire as there was some grumbling in the Congress ranks over Sharma having contested previous elections as Independent candidate. “Sharma out of the electoral reckoning, Congress has reasons to be disappointed. For he was deemed to be a strong candidate to make Aggrawal to run for his money,” said a Congress insider.
However, party sources said that the state party chief Kishore Updhyaya might have been elated with Sharma being thrown out of the contest. Now, he is most likely to contest from Rishikesh as suggested by many of his followers.
Upadhyay was defeated in the hands of the Independent candidate Dinesh Dhanai from Tehri constituency during Assembly election-2012. Even now if he ventures to try his electoral luck from this constituency things would prove tough, given the fact that Dhanai, a cabinet minister, has been going from strength to strength in this constituency with the blessing of the CM who is known to be ill-disposed to the state party chief. Sharma now out of the way, the camp loyal to Upadhyay is sure that their leader would contest from Rishikesh and wresting it from BJP would be cakewalk for him.